Game Machine with Physical Lottery Mechanism

ABSTRACT

A game machine comprises a physical lottery system and a control unit, the physical lottery system imparting a physical motion to a ball on a bingo stage having a plurality of winning prize pockets corresponded to at least one option respectively, and determining a selected option depending on which of the winning prize pockets the ball has been taken in; the control unit executing a predetermined game in association with the lottery result by the physical lottery system and delivering to a player amusement value of the amount depending on the game result, wherein a probability to select each option is calculated based on the lottery result within a predetermined sampling period, and in reference to the calculated probabilities the payout rate of amusement value in the game is controlled.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a game machine with physical lotterysystem where at least one option is selected from a plurality of optionsby utilizing a physical motion of a medium for lottery.

BACKGROUND ART

There is known a game machine having a physical lottery system and agame execution device. The physical lottery system brings the medium forlottery such as a ball or the like into at least one of medium takeportions while imparting the medium for lottery a physical motion on alottery board, and it is recognized that the option corresponding to themedium take portion which has taken the medium for lottery is selected.The game execution device executes a predetermined game in associationwith the lottery result in the physical lottery system, and delivers toa player, amusement value the amount of which depends on a game result.As to this type game machine, by utilizing the physical lottery system,the game machine's intentional operation to the lottery probability ofeach options is difficult, and thereby the equitableness of game ismaintained. Moreover, by giving uniqueness to exterior-appearanceelements such as size and design of the physical lottery system, it ispossible to enhance the player's eye-catch effect for the game machine.Therefore, especially in a category of game machine for commercial useto which the eye-catch effect is required, an example where this type ofphysical lottery system is installed is often seen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

By the way, in the above mentioned physical lottery system, lotteryprobability of each option is not always equal to each other by amechanical error. Therefore, there are sometimes existed an option whichis easy to be selected and an option which is not easy to be selected.When the dispersion of lottery probability is not taken into account, abias of a win probability in the game executed in association with thelottery result happens, and it could happen that unexpected affectionsare given to the control of payout rate of amusement value.

Then, the present invention aims to reflect appropriately the dispersionof lottery probabilities which appear in the physical lottery system incontrol of the payout rate.

The present invention solves the above mentioned problems by thefollowing game machine: a game machine comprises a physical lotterysystem for selecting at least one option from a plurality of options byutilizing physical motions of a medium for lottery; and a game executiondevice for executing a predetermined game in association with a lotteryresult of the physical lottery system, and delivering to a player,amusement value, the amount of which depends on a result of the game,wherein the game machine further comprising a probability calculationdevice for calculating a probability to select each option based on alottery result within a predetermine sampling period; and a payout ratecontrol device for controlling a payout rate of the amusement value inthe game in reference to the probability calculated by the probabilitycalculation device.

According to the game machine of the present invention, the probabilitythat each option is selected based on the lottery result within apredetermined period is calculated, and thereby it is possible to graspstatistically the dispersion of lottery probabilities existing in thephysical lottery system. Then, the payout rate is controlled inreference to the calculated lottery probabilities. Thereby, it ispossible to avoid a case that the dispersion of lottery probabilitiesgive unexpected affection to the payout rate, and to make the dispersionof lottery probabilities reflect appropriately in control of payoutrate.

In one embodiment of the game machine of the present invention, the gameexecution device may be configured so that a pattern arrangement area isgenerated virtually, where a plurality of patterns are arranged in apredetermined alignment, each of the plurality of patterns correspondingto each of the plurality of options in the physical lottery system, andin a case that a predetermined win arrangement is formed by theplurality of patterns in the pattern arrangement area, each of theplurality of patterns corresponds to each of the plurality of optionsselected through plural lotteries in the lottery system, the amusementvalue is delivered to the player. According to this embodiment, in thecase that the win arrangement is formed by the patterns corresponding tothe selected options, the amusement value is delivered. Then, thedispersion of lottery probabilities of options is reflected in controlof the arrangement of the patterns or the amount of amusement value tobe delivered to the formation of win arrangement. Thereby, it ispossible to realize the control of payout rate reflecting the dispersionof lottery probabilities.

In the above embodiment, the payout rate control device may control thepayout rate by changing the alignment of patterns in the patternarrangement area based on the calculated probability. In this case, ifthe dispersion of probabilities that each option is selected exists, theprobability that the win arrangement is established in the patternarrangement area changes depending on the dispersion of lotteryprobabilities of options. Accordingly, by setting the arrangement ofpatterns so that it becomes easy to establish the win arrangement, or byoperating the arrangement of patterns so that it becomes difficult toestablish the win arrangement, the probability that the amusement valueis delivered with the establishment of win arrangement is made tochange, and thereby control the payout rate. Moreover, the payout ratecontrol device may change the alignment of the patterns so that adifference between an actual value of the payout rate and a target valueof the payout rate is reduced. As this, in the case the arrangement ofpatterns is changed, it is possible to control the payout rate toapproach the target value earlier.

In one embodiment of the game machine of the present invention, the gameexecution device may virtually generate as the pattern arrangement area,a bingo card where the patterns are aligned in a matrix shape, in whichthe number of patterns in a longitudinal direction is the same number ofpatterns in a lateral direction, and in a case that all patterns on anyone of lines in the longitudinal direction, the lateral direction, and adiagonal direction correspond to the options selected by the physicallottery system, it may be recognized that the win arrangement has beenformed and the delivery of the amusement value is executed. According tothis embodiment, in the case that the options corresponding to all ofline of patterns in the longitudinal direction, in the lateraldirection, or the diagonal direction of the bingo card are selected bythe lottery system, it is recognized that the win arrangement isestablished, and the amusement value is delivered. In this case, if thedispersion of probabilities that each option is selected exists,depending on the contents of the combination of the patterns aligned onone line, the probability that the win arrangement is established on theline changes. Accordingly, by operating the arrangement of the patterns,it is possible to control the payout rate.

In the embodiment where a bingo card is generated, the payout ratecontrol device may control the payout rate, in a case that the winarrangement has been formed, by changing the arrangement of patternsincluded in the win arrangement based on the probability calculated bythe probability calculation device as to each of the optionscorresponding to the patterns included in the win arrangement. Accordingto this embodiment, the payout rate can be controlled only by performingan easy operation to change the arrangement of patterns at each timewhen the win arrangement is established.

Moreover, in the embodiment where the arrangement of patterns changes,the payout rate control device, in a case that the actual value of thepayout rate is lower than the target value of the payout rate, maychange the arrangement of patterns so that the pattern corresponding tothe option the win probability of which is relatively higher is arrangedat a center of the win arrangement, and in a case that the actual valueof the payout rate is higher than the target value of the payout rate,may change the arrangement of patterns so that the pattern correspondingto the option the win probability of which is relatively lower isarranged at a center of the win arrangement. In the bingo card, thepattern disposed at the center of the bingo card is included in any oneof lines in the longitudinal, in the lateral direction, and the diagonaldirection. Accordingly, when the pattern corresponding to the optionwhich has a high lottery probability is disposed at the center of thecard, the probability to establish the winning arrangement heightens,and when the pattern corresponding to the option which has a low lotteryprobability is disposed a the center of the card, the probability toestablish the winning arrangement lower. Accordingly, in a case that theactual value of the payout rate is lower than the target value, if thepattern corresponding to the option having a high lottery probability isdisposed preferentially at the center of the line where the winarrangement has been established, the pattern corresponding to theoption which has a high lottery probability is disposed at the center ofthe card, and the probability to establish the win arrangementheightens. Thereby, it is possible to heighten earlier the payout ratetoward the target value. On the other hand, in a case that the actualvalue of the payout rate is higher than the target value, if the patterncorresponding to the option having a low lottery probability is disposedpreferentially at the center of the line where the win arrangement hasbeen established, the pattern corresponding to the option which has alow lottery probability is disposed at the center of the card, and theprobability to establish the win arrangement lowers. Thereby, it ispossible to lower earlier the payout rate toward the target value.

As mentioned above, according to the game machine of the presentinvention, by calculating each probability to select each option basedon the lottery result within a predetermined sampling period, thedispersion of lottery probabilities existing in the physical lotterysystem is grasped statistically. Then, by controlling the payout rate inreference to the calculated lottery probabilities, it is possible toavoid a possibility that the dispersion of lottery probabilities givesunexpected affection to the payout rate. Accordingly, it is possible toreflect appropriately the dispersion of lottery probabilities existingin the physical lottery system in control of the payout rate of theamusement value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 A diagram showing a schematic configuration of a game machineaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 A perspective view showing a satellite unit and a station unitcombined therewith.

FIG. 3 A diagram showing a flow of medals in the station unit.

FIG. 4 A diagram showing a flow of a ball in the station unit.

FIG. 5 A perspective view showing a center unit.

FIG. 6 A block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a controlsystem in the game machine.

FIG. 7 A flow chart of processing that the host control unit and thestation control unit execute for managing the payout rate.

FIG. 8 A flow chart of a game basic control routine that the stationcontrol unit executes in response to the drop of medals.

FIG. 9 A diagram showing a game picture displayed on the monitor of thestation unit.

FIG. 10 A diagram showing a details of a bingo game portion provided inthe game picture shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 A flow chart of a satellite lottery routine that the satellitecontrol unit executes.

FIG. 12 A flow chart of a win probability determination routine that thehost control unit executes.

FIG. 13 A diagram showing number of wins data that the host control unitholes.

FIG. 14 A flow chart of a bingo routine that the station control unitexecutes in response to the notification of the result of a satellitelottery.

FIG. 15 A diagram for explaining a way of changing arrangement ofnumerals on a win line in the bingo game.

FIG. 16 A flow chart of a center lottery control routine that the centercontrol unit executes.

FIG. 17 A flow chart of a grand slot lottery control routine that thehost control unit executes.

FIG. 18 A flow chart of a premier mode routine that the station controlunit executes instead of the game basic control routine.

FIG. 19 A diagram showing a schematic game picture displayed on amonitor of the station.

FIG. 20 A flow chart of a premier mode termination control that thestation control unit executes for determining the termination of thepremier mode.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Using FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, the outline of configuration of the game machineG according to the present invention will be described. The game machineG has a center unit CN, four satellite units SA, and 16 station unitsST. Each of the satellite units SA is disposed below the center unit CNso as to surround the center unit CN. At the surround of each satelliteunit SA, 4 of the station units ST are disposed. Namely, the gamemachine G is configured so that the center unit CN is disposed at thecenter, 4 of the satellite units SA are disposed around the center unitCN, and additionally, 4 of the station units ST are disposed around eachof the satellite units SA. In the station unit ST, a so-called pushergame utilizing medals as the amusement media, and a digital lottery gameassociated with the pusher game are performed respectively. In thesatellite unit SA, a satellite lottery is performed in association withthe game result of the digital lottery game in the station unit ST. Inthe center unit CN, a center lottery or a grand slot lottery isperformed as a center game, in association with the game result of thedigital lottery game at the station unit ST or the lottery result of thesatellite lottery at the satellite unite SA.

FIG. 2 shows one satellite unit SA and one station unit AT which iscombined with the satellite unit SA. The station unit ST comprises apair of right and left operation portions 10 where operations relatingto the game are performed by the player, a play field portion 12 wherethe pusher game is performed, a medal delivery portion 13 where todeliver medals M as a first game medium to the play filed portion 12, aball drop portion 14 where to drop a ball as a second game medium intothe play field portion 12, a ball transfer portion 15 where to transferthe ball B to the satellite unit SA, and a station monitor 16 where todisplay a game picture or the like. The play field portion 12 has a maintable 20 and a sub table 32 where to store the medals M, and further haspusher tables 22, 23 sliding forwardly and backwardly on the tables 20,21 respectively. The medals M are stored so that the main table 20 andthe sub table 21 are paved by the medals M. The play field portion 12 isshielded to the outside by being surrounded with a partition wall suchas a transparent board.

With reference to FIG. 3, the outline of flow of medals M at the stationunit ST will be described. When the medals M is dropped by the playerfrom a medal slot (not figured) mounted in the operation portion 10, andthe medals M fall down to any one of medal hoppers 13 a of the medaldeliver portion 13 via a medal shoot 17. Prior to the medal drop by theplayer, medals M have been delivered to both medal ejection portions 18disposed at right and left sides of the station unit ST, and the medalsM have been held in both of the medal ejection portions 18 for droppingto the play field portion 12. The medals M held in the medal ejectionportion 18 are transferred to a medal shoot 19 at the timingsimultaneously with the timing when the medals M are dropped by theplayer, and the medals M are dropped onto the sub table 21 from themedal shoot 19. Additionally, the direction of the shoot 19 can bechanged in a right-left direction by operating levers 10 a mounted onright and left sides of the operation portion 10.

The medals M which are dropped in the play field portion 12 falls downon the sub table 21. Then, the medals M accumulate on the sub table 21or roll down to the main table 20 from the sub table 21. The medals Maccumulated on the sub table 21 are pushed forward (i.e. the side ofplayer) by a reciprocal motion of the pusher table 23. Thereby, themedals M are pushed out of the front edge of the sub table 21, and thepushed out medals M slide off on a slope portion 24 to move to the maintable 20, and are accumulated there. The medals M accumulated on themain table 20 are pushed forward by a reciprocal motion of the pushertable 22. Thereby, the medals M fall down to the surround of the maintable 20. The medals M which has fallen down are collected in a lift uphopper 25 shown in FIG. 2. Then, the medals M, the number of which isthe same as the number of medals M having fallen down from the frontedge of the main table 20 are delivered to the medal deliver portion 11disposed between the operation portions 10 from the lift up hopper 25 asthe medals the player obtains. As the medals M which are delivered to aplace disposed at the outside of the partition wall covering the playfield portion 12, it is possible for the player to accept the medals M.

Returning to FIG. 2, in the slope portion 24, a plurality of openings 24a, 24 b, and 24 c are provided as a checker where the medals M passthrough (fall down). When the medals M on the way to slide down on theslope portion 24 fall down to any one of the opening 24 a, 24 b and 24c, a not figured sensor detects that the medals M have passed through,and the detection signal is used as a trigger that the digital lotterygame starts at the station monitor 16. The digital lottery game is oneof slot games competing whether a combination of three patterns(pictures, signs, numerals or the like) displayed in a row on thestation monitor 16 is equal to the predetermined win hands or not.“Ball” is prepared as one of the win hands in the digital lottery game.For example, if 3 of pictures of ball are aligned, the player wins thewin hand of “ball”. If the player wins this hand, the ball B is droppedonto the main table 20 from the ball drop portion 14. It will bedescribed later that the ball B is provided to the ball drop portion 14.Additionally, in the present embodiment, different kinds of balls, oneis a normal ball B1 and another one is a special ball B2, are preparedas the ball B. However, in a case that it is not needed to discriminatethem, both of them are referred to as the ball B.

The ball B dropped onto the main table 20 is gradually pushed out towardthe front side of the main table 20 together with the medals M by thereciprocal motion of the pusher table 22. When the ball B falls downfrom the front edge of the main table 20, the ball B which has fallendown is transferred to the satellite unit SA by the ball transferportion 15. FIG. 4 shows a transfer route of the ball B provided by theball transfer portion 15. The ball B which has fallen down from the maintable 20 is taken in a ball lifter 27 via a ball duct 26. The balllifter 27 transfers the taken ball B up to the end (the top) of slope 28while lifting the ball B along with the slope 28. At the satellite unitSA, the satellite lottery is performed with the ball B transferred up tothe end of the slope 28.

As shown in FIG. 2, the satellite unit SA comprises a bingo stage 30, aball carrier 40 mounted to the outer circumference of the bingo stage30, a pair of ball provision systems 50A, 50B disposed to the peripheryof the bingo stage 30, and a pair of ball drop system 60A, 60B disposedacross the bingo stage 30 from the ball provision system 50A, 50B. Thebingo stage 30 is rotated in one direction around a vertical directionaxis as a center by a not-figured drive system. The upper surface of thebingo stage 30 is divided into an outer circumference portion 32A and aninner circumference portion 32B by a fence 31 in the shape of ring. Ineach of the portions 32A, 32B, a winning prize pocket 32 a, 33 a in theshape of round having a diameter to the extent that the ball B can passthrough, is mounted so that the winning prize pocket 32 a, 33 apenetrates the bingo stage 30. In the outer circumference portion 32A,10 of the winning prize pockets 32 a are provided, and in the innercircumference portion 32B, 5 of the winning prize pockets 33 a areprovided. To the winning prize pockets 32 a, 33 a, the numbers or thepatterns to be the options in the satellite lottery are assignedrespectively. To the winning prize pockets 32 a in the outercircumference portion 32A, the numerals 1 to 9 and the letters of “JPchance” are assigned respectively. Additionally, “JP” in thisdescription is used as abbreviation for a jack pot, that is, a big win.On the other hand, to each of the three winning prize pockets 33 a inthe inner circumference portion 32B, each 3 numerals of 1 to 9,appropriately combined, are assigned. To each of the remains of 2winning prize pockets 33 a, the letters “JP chance” are assigned.

The ball carrier 40 is capable of moving along with the outercircumference of the bingo stage 30. The ball carrier 40 transfers theball B from the ball provision system 50A, 50B to the ball drop portion14 of each station unit ST, and transfers the ball B from the balltransfer portion 15 of each station unit ST to the ball provision system60A, 60B. To each lower portion of the ball provision systems 50A, 50B,the ball B has passed through the winning prize pockets 32 a, 33 a isselectively guided depending on the kind of the ball B. For example, thenormal ball B1 is guided to the ball provision system 50A, and thespecial ball B2 is guided to the ball provision system 50B. The ballprovision system 50A, 50B takes the guided ball B in a screw feeder 51to transfer the ball B upward, and delivers the ball B reaching the topof the screw feeder 51 from the ejection portion 52 one by one. The ballcarrier 40 moves to just below the ejection portion 52 in liaison withthe delivery of the ball B from the ejection portion 52, thereby theball B to be ejected from the ball ejection portion 52 are passed to afork 41 of the ball carrier 40. The ball carrier 40 which has receivedthe ball B from the ball provision system 50A, SOB moves along with theouter circumference of the bingo stage 30 up to the ball drop portion 14of the station unit ST where the ball B should be transferred. Afterthat, the carrier 40, by inclining the fork 41 outward, delivers theball B to the top of the slope 14 a of the ball drop portion 14. Thedelivered ball B slopes down through the slope 14 a, and, via a dropposition selection system 14 b, is dropped at an arbitrary position onthe main table 20.

On the other hand, in a case that the ball B is transferred to the balltransfer portion 15 of the station unit ST, the ball carrier 40 moves tothe inner side of the slope 28 of the ball transfer portion 15 where theball B has been transferred and receives the ball B from the slope 28.And then, the ball carrier 40 transfers the ball B to the position ofthe ball drop system 60A or 60B. It is associated with the kind of ballB which one of the ball drop systems 60A or 60B the ball carrier 40transfers the ball B to. For example, in a case of the normal ball B1,the ball carrier 40 transfers the ball B1 to the ball drop system 60A,while in a case of the special ball B2, the ball carrier 40 transfersthe ball B2 to the ball drop system 60B.

Each of the ball drop systems 60A, 60B has a ball lifter 61 and a ballguide 62. The ball lifter 61 is capable of performing a reciprocalmotion in an up and down direction. In a case that the normal ball B1 istransferred to a ball drop system 60A from the ball carrier 40, the balllifter 61 of the ball drop system 60A gets lower. After that, the fork41 of the ball carrier 40 is inclined to the side of ball lifter 61, andthe ball B1 is passed from the ball carrier 40 to the ball lifter 61.The ball lifter 61 having received the ball B1 gets up to the top of theball guide 62. After that, the ball lifter 61 is inclined so that a downslope is formed to the ball guide 62. Thereby, the normal ball B1 ispassed to the ball guide 62. The normal ball passed to the ball guide 62is dropped in the outer circumference 32 of the bingo stage 30 from thetop of the ball guide 62. In a case that the special ball B2 istransferred to the ball drop system 60B from the ball carrier 40, theball lifter 61 of the ball drop system 60B gets lower, and the ball B2is passed from the ball carrier 40 to the ball lifter 61. After that,the ball lifter 61 operates in a similar way to the ball drop system 60Ato pass the special ball B2 to the ball guide 62 of the ball drop system60B. The special ball B2 passed to the ball guide 62 is dropped to theinner circumference portion 33 of the bingo stage 30 from the top of theball guide 62.

As shown in FIG. 5, the center unit CN comprises a center monitor 70, abig roulette 71, and a big-ball drop system 72. The big roulette 71 isrotated in one direction at a predetermined speed by a not-figureddriving system. A plurality of winning prize pockets 71 a are providedto the periphery of the big roulette 71. To the winning prize pockets 71a, number (or number of times) of medals M and various kinds of gamemode are assigned as the win hands respectively. When the center gamestarts, the big ball 73 for the big roulette is dropped from the balldrop system 72 to the periphery of the big roulette 71. The big ball 73while oscillating along with the periphery of the big roulette 71according to the rotation of the big roulette 71, enters in any one ofthe winning prize pockets 71 a. A privilege depending on the winningprize pocket 71 a which the big ball 73 has entered, is given to theplayer.

Additionally, to each of the station unit ST, the satellite unit SA, andthe center unit CN, illumination devices and sound devices are mountedas rendering devices for warming up game mood. As the electric lightdevices, for example, for the station unit a plurality of LEDs(light-emitting diodes) are arranged along with a moving route from thedrop of the medals M to the ejection of medals M to the play fieldportion 12. In the satellite unit SA, lamps are mounted to provide fromthe lower bingo stage 30, an illumination in the shape of ring aroundthe rotation axis of the bingo stage 30 as the center. The winning prizepocket 71 a of the big roulette 71 in the center unit CN is fringed witha plurality of LEDs. As the sound devices, speakers are provided, effectsounds and BGM (back ground music) are appropriately outputted from thespeakers. As shown in FIG. 1, spacers SP are provided between each ofthe satellite units SA of the game machine G. Below each of the spacersSP, a moving light L and a speaker for a show time are disposed.

Next, the configuration of a control system of the game machine G willbe described. As shown in FIG. 6, in the game machine G, as a computerunit to control operations in the game machine G, there are provided ahost control unit 100, a host PC (“PC” is an abbreviation of “personalcomputer”) 110, a center PC 120, a center control unit 130, satellitecontrol unit 140 and station control unit 150. The satellite controlunit 140 is provided to the satellite unit SA one by one as aconfiguration element of the satellite unit SA. The station control unit150 is provided to the station unit ST one by one as a configurationelement of the station unit ST. Namely, in the whole of the game machineG, there are 4 of the satellite control units 140 and 16 of the stationcontrol units 150. These units 110 to 150 are connected with each othervia LAN cables 160 to communicate information necessary for controllingvarious games or lotteries with each other. Additionally, the LAN cables160 can be connected in a manner of so-called a star connection in whichsome hubs intervene at appropriate points.

The host control unit 100 executes an entire management, a coordinatecontrol and the like of the game machine G. The host PC 110 controlsoperations of a main-body rendering portion 111 of the game machine G.Rendering devices not included in any one of the center unit CN, thesatellite unit SA, or the station unit ST, such as the above mentionedmoving lights L and the speakers on the spacers SP, are included in themain-body rendering portion 111. The center PC 120 controls a display onthe center monitor 70.

The center control unit 130, by operating based on the state of thecenter unit CN detected by a sensor group 131, a center drive portion132 and a center rendering portion 133, controls execution of the centergame and rendering in the game utilizing the center unit CN. In thesensor group 131, a win sensor is included, which detects whether thebig ball 73 enters or not in each winning prize pocket 71 a of the bigroulette 71. For example, a no-contact switch, or a reflection-type ortransmission-type optical sensor can be employed as the win sensor. Inthe center drive portion 132, drive devices such as a motor for rotatingthe big roulette 71, actuators for driving the big ball drop system 72and the like are included. In the center rendering portion 133,rendering devices such as lamps and speakers uniquely provided to thecenter unit CN.

The satellite control unit 40 controls the execution of the satellitelottery, the transfer of the ball B, and the rendering of game utilizingthe satellite unit SA, by operating a satellite drive portion 142 and asatellite rendering portion 143 based on the state of the satellite unitSA, which is detected by a sensor group 141. In the sensor group 141, awin sensor for detecting whether the ball B passes or not through eachof the winning prize pockets 32 a, 33 a of the bingo stage 30, and acarrier position sensor for detecting the position of the ball carrier40 in the circumferential direction. A non-contact switch or atransmission-type or reflection-type optical sensor can be employed asthe win sensor. In the satellite drive portion 142, drive devices areincluded, such as a motor for rotating the bingo stage 30, an actuatorfor driving the ball carrier 40 along with the outer circumference ofthe bingo stage 30, an actuator for operating the fork 41 of the ballcarrier 40, an actuator for driving the screw feeder 51 and the ballejection portion 52 or the ball provision system 50A, 50B respectively,an actuator for driving upward and downward the ball lifter 61 of theball drop system 60A, 60B. In the satellite rendering portion 143,rendering devices such as lamps and speakers uniquely mounted to thesatellite unit SA.

The station control unit 150 controls the pusher game and the digitallottery game to be executed at the station unit ST and the rendering ofthe games utilizing the station unit ST, by operating a station driveportion 152 and a station rendering portion 153 based on the state ofthe station unit ST detected by a sensor group 151. Additionally, thestation control unit 150 controls display of the station monitor 16. Inthe sensor group 151, a medal sensor group with respect to detection ofthe medals M, a ball sensor group with respect to detection of a ball B,and a position sensor group for detecting position of movable parts suchas the lever 10 a, and the pusher tables 22, 23.

In the medal sensor group, there are included a medal drop sensor fordetecting the drop of medals M from the medal slot, a medal ejectionsensor for detecting the ejection of medals M from the medal ejectionportion 18, a checker sensor for the fall of medals M to the openings 24a to 24 c as the checker, fall medal sensor for detecting the fall ofmedal M from the front edge of the main table 20, a medal deliverysensor for detecting the medal M to be delivered to the medal deliverportion 11 from the lift up hopper 25, and the like. Non-contactswitches, optical sensors, micro switches and the like can be employedas the above sensors, like the medal sensors employed to analready-known the medal game machine. Additionally, in the ball sensorgroup, there are included such as a ball drop sensor for detecting thedrop of ball B from the ball drop portion 14, a ball fall sensor fordetecting the ball B falling down from the main table 20 and beingtransferred to the ball transfer portion 15. The ball fall sensorfurther functions as a sensor for discriminating the kind of ball B,that is, whether or not the ball which has fallen is the normal ball B1of the special ball B2. The discrimination of the ball B can be realizedby using a sensor as the ball fall sensor, which outputs differentsignal depending on the kind of ball B1, B2. For example, in a case thatone of the balls B1 and B2 is a resin ball and another one of the ballsB1 and B2 is a metal ball, it is possible to discriminate the kind ofballs B1, B2 with a metal sensor. When the reflectance rate of the ballsB1 and B2 are different from each other, the reflectance-type opticalsensor is employed as the ball fall sensor. It is possible todiscriminate the kind of ball B according to the strength of outputsignal from the sensor. By discriminating the kind of ball B with theball fall sensor, it is possible to specify the ball drop system 60A,60B to which the ball carrier 40 should transfer the ball B.

In the station drive portion 152, there are included such as a drivedevice for each of the medal hopper 13 a and the lift up hopper 25, anactuator for realizing the operation of ejecting the medals of the medalejection portion 18, drive devices for reciprocating the pusher tables22, 23 such as motors, an actuator for operating the drop positionselection system 14 b of the ball drop portion 14, a drive derive fordriving the ball lifter 27 of the ball transfer portion 15 and the like.In the station rendering portion 153, rendering devices are includedsuch as lamps and speakers uniquely mounted to the station unit ST.

Next will be described various kinds of processing executed by the gamemachine G, with reference to FIG. 7 to FIG. 20. First, the management ofpayout rate in the game machine G will be described. In the game machineG of the present embodiment, in each station unit ST, by the stationcontrol unit 150, the number of dropped medals M and the number ofdelivered medals M are counted and the payout rate is calculated with anappropriate period for each station unit ST. When the number of droppedmedals M detected by the medal drop sensor within a predetermined periodfor calculation is referred to as NSTin, and the number of ejectedmedals M detected by the medal ejection sensor within the same period isreferred to as NSTout, the percentage of the value NSTout/NSTin obtainedby dividing the later by the former is calculated. Thereby, it ispossible to determine the payout rate POst in the present state of thestation unit ST within the predetermined period for calculation.However, in a case that the game machine G has functions for holding thenumber of medals M charged by the player as the number of credits, anddropping medals M, the number of which is withdrawn from the number ofcredits, to the play field portion 12 from the medal ejection portion18, and executing the addition to the number of credits for realizingthe delivery of medals M, it is necessary to calculate the payout ratePOst by adding the number of medals M to be reduced from the number ofcredits to the number of dropped medals NSTin and adding the number ofmedals M to be added to the number of credits to the number of deliverymedals NSTout.

In the game machine G of the present embodiment, so that the payout ratePOst of each of the station units ST is appropriately equal to eachother, the processing shown in FIG. 7 is executed by the linkage of thehost control unit 100 and each of the station control units 150. Namely,the host control unit 100 executes a routine for managing an entirepayout rate in an appropriate cycle, and in synchronism with that, eachstation control unit 150 executes a routine for managing individualpayout rate. When these routines start, firstly the station control unit150 notifies the host control unit 100 of the payout rate POstcalculated in itself at step S11. In response to this, the host controlunit 100 obtains the payout rate POst of each station unit ST at stepS21, and subsequently at step S22, calculates an entire payout ratePOall and notifies each station control unit 150 of the calculationresult. The entire payout rate POall, for example, can be a simpleaverage of the payout rates POst of the station units ST.

The station control unit 150 obtains the payout rate POall from the hostcontrol unit 100 at step S12, and subsequently at step S13, determines atarget payout rate POsttgt of its own station unit ST based on thedifference between the own payout rate Post and the entire payout ratePOall. In each station control unit 150, a standard target payout rateis set as a initial value in advance. Then, each station control unit150 appropriately adjusts a win probability (a probability ofestablishing the win hands) of the digital lottery game so that thepayout rate POst calculated in itself is controlled to approach theinitial value of a target payout rate POsttgt. Moreover, at step S13, ina case that a difference between the own payout rate POst and the entirepayout rate POall increases beyond an permissible range, so as to reducethe difference, the station control unit 150 adjusts the target payoutrate POsttgt. For example, in a case that the own payout rate POst ishigher than the entire payout rate POall, the target payout rate POsttgtis set to be lower than the initial value. In this manner, by changingthe target payout rate POsttgt, it is possible to reduce the dispersionof payout rates POst.

Next, in reference to FIG. 8, the control of the game at the stationunit ST will be described. At each station unit ST, while the pushertables 22, 23 repeat the reciprocal motion at a predetermined frequency,medals M are dropped into the play field portion 12 according to thedrop of medals M from the medal slot, and thereby a medal pusher game isperformed. FIG. 8 shows a flow chart of a game basic control routineexecuted by the station control unit 150 in response to the detection ofdrop of medals M from the medal slot. In the game basic control routineshown in FIG. 8, the station control unit 150 firstly executes at stepS101, a processing required to drop the medals M into the play fieldportion 12. The flow of medals M at this moment is above mentioned inreference to FIG. 3.

At next step S102, the station control unit 150 determines whether ornot the medals M have entered any one of the openings portions 24 a to24 c as the checker. When the medals M have entered the checker, thestation control unit 150 goes to step S103 to start the slot lottery ofthe digital lottery game. Namely, the station control unit 150 displaysthe game picture 200 shown in FIG. 9 on the station monitor 16, andselects by using random numbers or the like, patterns to be displayed ineach of changeable display portions 201 a, 201 b, 201 c disposed on aline in the game picture 200. The process for determining the patternsmay be executed based on a control law of a conventional slot machine.Then, the selected patterns are displayed, while each of the changeabledisplay portion 201 a, 201 b, 201 c is given a predetermined renderingeffects (animation and the like). Note that, the game picture 200 hasalso a bingo game portion 210, but this will be described later.

After the slot lottery ends, the station control unit 150 goes to stepS104 to determine whether or not the combination of the three patternsdetermined in the slot lottery is a losing hand or not. In a case of thelosing hand, the station control unit 150 terminates this routine. Onthe other hand, at step S140, in a case of the combination is not thelosing hand, namely, in a case of establishing the win hand in the slotlottery, the station control unit 150 goes to step S105 and after stepS105 to execute processing appropriate to the kind of win hand. Namely,the station control unit 150, firstly at step S107, whether or not a winhand of “ball” is established. In a case of establishing the win hand of“ball”, the station control unit 150 goes to step S106 to deliver (drop)the normal ball B1 to the play field portion 12. Namely, the stationcontrol unit 150 requires the delivery of the normal ball B1 to thesatellite control unit 140. In response to the require, the satellitecontrol unit 140 requires the ball provision system 50A to eject thenormal ball B1 therefrom, and delivers the ejected ball to the slope 14a of the ball drop portion 14 by the ball carrier 40. In sync with thedelivery of the normal ball B1, the station control unit 150 operatesthe drop position selection system 14 b of the ball drop portion 14 todrop the normal ball B1 to an appropriate position in the play fieldportion 12. When the drop of the normal ball B1 is accomplished, thestation control unit 150 terminates this routine.

At step S104, in a case that the win hand of “ball” is not established,the station control unit 150 goes to step S107 to determine whether ornot the win hand of “ordinary patterns” in the slot lottery has beenestablished. In a case of the win hand of “ordinary patterns”, thestation control unit 150 goes to step S108 to execute processing forproviding medals M, the number of which corresponds to the win hand of“ordinary patterns”, to the play field portion 12 from the medalprovision portion 13. Hereinafter, the delivery of medals M means thedelivery of medals M from the lift up hopper 25 to the medal deliveryportion 11, and the provision of medals M means the delivery of medals Mfrom the medal provision portion 13 to the play field portion 12. Theprovision of medals M from the medal provision portion 13 may be only aroute through the medal ejection portion 18 and the medal shoot 19.However, in a case of delivering a big amount of medals M to the playfield portion 12 at one time, the medals M may be provided through otherroutes.

Subsequently at step S109, the station control unit 150 sets the mode ofslot lottery to an ordinary mode, and after that terminates thisroutine. The mode of slot lottery will be described. At step S107, in acase that the win hand of “ordinary patterns” is not established, thestation control unit 150 goes to step S110 to determine whether or notthe win hand of “probability oscillation patterns” has been established.In a case that the win hand of “probability oscillation patterns” hasbeen established, the station control unit 150 goes to step S111 toprovide the medals M, the number of which corresponds to the“probability oscillation patterns”, to the play field portion 12.Subsequently at step S112, the station control unit 150 sets the mode ofslot lottery to the probability oscillation mode, and after thatterminates this routine. The probability oscillation mode is a modewhere the probability of establishing the win hand in the slot lotteryis heightened compared with a normal mode. That is to say, in a casethat the win hand of “probability oscillation patterns” is established,at step S112, the probability oscillation mode is started or the samemode is maintained. Then, in a case that the win hand of “ordinarypatterns” has been established in the probability oscillation mode, theprobability oscillation mode is terminated by the processing of stepS109.

At step S110, in the case that the win hand of “probability oscillationpatterns” is not established, the station control unit 150 goes to stepS113 to determine whether or not the win hand of “bingo feature” hasbeen established. In the case that the win hand of “bingo feature” hasbeen established, the station control unit 150 goes to step S114 toexecute a bingo card feature setting processing. The bingo card featuresetting processing is a processing for changing an expected value ofplayer with respect to the number of delivering medals M by changingplayer's privilege in a bingo game executed in combination with thebingo cards 211 displayed on the bingo game portion 210 shown in FIG. 9.Hereinafter this point will be described.

FIG. 10 shows the magnified bingo game portion 210. In the bingo gameportion 210, the bingo card 211 is displayed. The bingo card 211 is madeup of such 9 boxes as arranged in a matrix shape having 3 lines and 3rows, and the boxes are assigned to the numerals 1 to 9 respectively.Each of the numerals corresponds to the numeral assigned to the winningprize pocket 32 a, 33 a in the bingo stage 30 of the satellite unit SA.When the ball B drops in any one of the winning prize pockets 32 a, 33 ain the satellite lottery, the numeral assigned to the winning prizepocket 32 a, 33 a becomes active. When three active numerals are alignedin a longitudinal direction, in a lateral direction or in a diagonaldirection of the bingo cards 211, the bingo is established. And then,the medals M the number of which is displayed on an odds display area212 are provided to the play field portion 12. A bingo feature displayarea 213 is provided at the left side and the bottom side of the bingocard 211. In the bingo feature display area 213, feature displayportions 214 a to 214 h are provided, each of which corresponds to alateral line, a longitudinal line, or a diagonal line of the bingo card211. In each of the feature display portions 214 a to 214 h, a patternis displayed which corresponds to the privilege to be provided to theplayer in addition to the provision of medals M the number of which isdisplayed in the odds display area 212, when the bingo is established,that is, three active numerals are aligned on the corresponding line.These privileges affect directly or indirectly the provision of medalsto the player, and the affections of the privileges given to the payoutrate are different from each other. In this embodiment, there areprepared as the privilege such that the addition of the bonus number ofmedals to the number of medals displayed in the odds display area 212,the drop of the normal ball B1 or the special ball B2 to the play fieldportion 120, the donation of “JP chance”, and the like. In the exampleshown in FIG. 10, the pattern indicating the drop of the special ball B2is appearing in each of the feature display portions 214 a, 214 e, thepattern indicating the drop of the normal ball B1 is appearing in eachof the feature display portions 214 b, 214 d, 214 f, 214 h, and thepattern indicating the donation of “JP chance” is appearing in thefeature display portion 214 c. Accordingly, for example, in a case thatthree active numerals are aligned in the lateral direction on the upmostline of the bingo cart 211, in response to establishing the bingo, thespecial ball B2 is dropped in the play field portion 120.

In the bingo card feature setting processing at step S114 in FIG. 8, byadding newly or changing the pattern (the privilege) to be allowed toappear in any one of the feature display portions 214 a to 214 h, theprivilege the player obtains at the moment of establishing the bingo ischanged. Thereby, it is possible to control the payout rate of medals.For example, when the actual payout rate POst is lower than the targetpayout rate POsttgt, it is possible to converge the payout rate POst tothe target payout rate POsttgt more quickly, by selecting among pluralprivileges prepared in advance, a privilege having a bigger affection toincrease the payout rate, in other words, selecting preferentially aprivilege connected with the delivery of bigger amount of medalscompared with the other privileges. On the contrary, when the actualpayout rate POst is higher than the target payout rate POsttgt, it ispossible to converge the payout rate POst to the target payout ratePOsttgt more quickly, by selecting among plural privileges prepared inadvance, a privilege having a smaller affection to increase the payoutrate, in other words, selecting preferentially a privilege connectedwith the delivery of smaller amount of medals compared with the otherprivileges. The selection of these privileges can be realized, forexample, by the following: the amount of the affection each privilegegives to the payout rate is quantified in advance, depending on thequantified value, the probability of selecting each privilege is setbasically. In a case of controlling to heighten the payout rate, theselection probability of privileges having a bigger affection to thepayout rate (the affection only for heightening the payout rate) may bemade higher than the basic set, and on the contrary in a case ofcontrolling for lowing the payout rate, the selection probability ofprivileges having a smaller affection to the payout rate may be madehigher than the basic set. When the feature setting processing isaccomplished at step S114, the station control unit 150 terminates thisroutine.

In a case that the win hand of “the bingo feature” is not established atstep S113 of FIG. 8, the station control unit 150 goes to step S115 todetermine whether or not the win hand of “direct satellite” has beenestablished. In a case that the win hand of “direct satellite” has beenestablished, the station control unit 150 goes to step S123. On theother hand, the win hand of “direct supply” is not established, thestation control unit 150 goes to step S116 to recognize that the winhand of “direct center” has been established. Subsequently at step S123,the station control unit 150 requires the center control unit 130 toexecute the center lottery and after that terminates this routine. Notethat, in this case, as the ball B is not transferred to the balltransfer portion 15, the satellite lottery is performed by deliveringthe ball B1 to the ball carrier 40 from the ball provision system 50A,and transferring the ball B1 to the ball drop system 60A.

In a case that the medals M do not enter the checker at step S102 inFIG. 8, the station control unit 150 goes to step S120 to determinewhether or not the ball B has fallen down from the main table 20. In acase that the ball B does not fall, the station control unit 150terminates this routine. On the other hand, in a case that the ball Bhas fallen, the station control unit 150 goes to step S121 todiscriminate whether or not the ball which has fallen is the specialball B2. The discrimination of the kinds of ball B is aforementionedwith respect to the sensor group 151 in FIG. 6. In a case that the ballB which has fallen is the special ball B2, the station control unit 120goes to step S122 to determine that the satellite lottery should beperformed at the inner circumference portion 33 of the bingo stage 30.On the other hand, in a case that the ball which have fallen is not thespecial ball B2, the station control unit 150 goes to step S123 todetermine that the satellite lottery should be performed at the outercircumference potion 32 of the bingo stage 30. After determining thearea where the satellite lottery should be performed, the stationcontrol unit 150 goes to step S124 to require the satellite lottery tothe satellite control unit 140. In this case, the station control unit150 also provides to the satellite control unit 140, the information ofspecifying whether the satellite lottery should be performed in theouter circumference portion 32 or in the inner circumference portion 33.After requiring the satellite lottery, the station control unit 150terminates this routine. Additionally, in harmony with the requirementof the satellite lottery, the station control unit 150 controlsoperations of the ball transfer portion 15 so that the ball B which hasfallen is transferred to the end of slope 28.

FIG. 11 shows a flow chart of a satellite lottery routine which thesatellite control unit 140 executes in response to the requirement ofthe satellite lottery from the station control unit 150. In thesatellite lottery routine, the satellite control unit 140, firstly atstep S201, determines whether the satellite lottery should be performedin the outer circumference portion 32 or the inner circumference portion33 by the information provided from the station control unit 150. In acase that the satellite lottery should be performed in the outercircumference portion 32, the satellite control unit 140 goes to stepS202 to control operations of the ball carrier 40 and the ball dropsystem 60A, so that the ball B (in this case, the normal ball B1)transferred by the ball transfer portion 15 of the station unit ST isdropped onto the outer circumference portion 32 from the ball dropsystem 60A. On the other hand, In a case that the satellite lotteryshould be performed in the inner circumference portion 33, the satellitecontrol unit 140 goes to step S203 to control operations of the ballcarrier 40 and the ball drop system 60B, so that the ball B (in thiscase, the special ball B2) transferred by the ball transfer portion 15of the station unit ST is dropped onto the inner circumference portion33 from the ball drop system 60B.

After dropping the ball B, the satellite control unit 140 goes to stepS204, reads out which one of the winning prize pockets 32 a (or 33 a)the dropped ball B has fallen into, based on the detection signal of thewin sensor included in the sensor group 140. Subsequently, at step S205,the satellite control unit 140 determines whether or not the winningprize pocket 32 a (or 33 a) into which the ball B has fallen is a JPchance pocket, that is, a winning prize pocket having the letters of “JPchance”. Then, in a case that the winning prize pocket 32 a (or 33 a) isthe JP chance pocket, the satellite control unit 140 goes to step S206to require the center lottery to the center control unit 130. In a casethat the winning prize pocket 32 a (or 33 a) is not the JP chancepocket, step S206 is skipped.

In the next step S207, the satellite control unit 140 notifies the hostcontrol unit 100 and the station control unit 150 (which has requiredthe satellite lottery) of the number or letter of the winning prizepocket 32 a (or 33 a) which the ball B has fallen into. After notifyingof that, the satellite control unit 140 terminates the satellite lotteryroutine.

FIG. 12 shows a flow chart of a win probability determination routinewhich the host control unit 100 executes in response to the notificationof the number or letter (hereinafter, referred to as the number) ofwinning prize pocket from the satellite control unit 140. As theprobabilities (ease in entering of the ball) that the ball B falls intothe winning prize pockets 32 a, 33 a of the bingo stage 30 are not equalto each other because of mechanical error and the like, this routine isexecuted to recognize the dispersion of the probabilities and reflect itto the control of game. In this routine, the host control unit 100,firstly at step S301, updates the number of wins data in response to thenotification of the winning-prize pocket number from the satellitecontrol unit 140. The number of wins data is, for example as shown inFIG. 13, data storing each number of winning prize pocket (the numeralsof 1 to 9 or “JP”) assigned to each winning prize pocket 32 a, 33 a, andeach number of wins N1 to N9, Njp which is corresponded to each numberof the winning prize pocket. The number of wins is obtained within anappropriate sampling period (for instance, the past 1000 times oflotteries). For example, in a case that the notification that in thesatellite lottery the ball B1 has fallen into the winning prize pocket32 a, to which the number of 1 is assigned, is accepted, 1 is added tothe number of wins N1 for the pocket number 1, and 1 is subtracted fromthe number of wins Nx for the pocket number x (x is any one of 1 to 9,or “JP”) corresponding to the oldest lottery chance within the samplingperiod.

Next, the host control unit 100, at step S302, calculates the winprobability for each pocket number. The calculation obtains the value bydividing the number of wins N1 to N9, Njp for each pocket number by thenumber of times of lottery within the sampling period. Note that thecalculation with respect to the probability of win for the pocket numberJP corresponding to “JP chance” can be omitted. Subsequently, at stepS302, the host control unit 100 notifies the station control unit 150 ofthe probability of win for each calculated pocket number, and after thatterminates this routine. Note that the station control unit 150 whichbecomes a notified destination at step S303 is the control unit 150 ofeach of the 4 station units ST combined with the satellite unit SAincluding the satellite control unit 140 which has notified of theresult of the satellite lottery. Namely, the win probabilitydetermination routine is executed for each unit independently. The eachunit comprises the satellite unit SA and 4 station units SA combinedtherewith.

FIG. 14 shows a flow chart of a bingo game routine to be executed by thestation control unit 150 which has been notified of the number ofwinning prize pocket from the satellite control unit 140. In the bingogame routine, the station control unit 150, firstly at step S131,activates on the bingo card 211, the numerals which are the same as thenumber of winning prize pocket 32 a or 33 a of which has been notifiedfrom the satellite control unit 140. However, in a case that the winningprize pocket is “JP chance”, the activation is not executed.

Subsequently at step S132, the station control unit 150 determineswhether the bingo has been established on the bingo card 211, that is,three active numerals has been aligned on a line. In a case that thebingo has been established, the station control unit 150 goes to stepS133 to provide to the play field 12, the medals M the number of whichis obtained by totalizing the bingo WIN medals and the repeat WINmedals. The bingo WIN medals is the number displayed in the odds displayarea 212 shown in FIG. 10. The repeat WIN medals is the number displayedin the repeat medals display portion 215 shown in FIG. 10. The repeatWIN medals will be described later. Moreover, at step S133, the stationcontrol unit 150 gives to the player, the privilege corresponding to thepattern appearing in the display portion of the line or row where thebingo has been established (hereinafter, referred to as the win line.)within the feature display portions 214 a to 214 h of the bingo gameportion 210 shown in FIG. 10. In this embodiment, as the privilege, forexample, the number of medals to be delivered is added, the ball B isdropped, or “JP chance” is donated. The donation of “JP chance” is arequirement of the center lottery like the case that the processingadvances from step S205 to step S206 in FIG. 12.

In the next step S135, the station control unit 150 resets the featureon the win line, that is eliminates the privilege corresponds to the winline. After that, the station control unit 150 goes to step S136 toobtain the win probability of each pocket number of which has beennotified by the host control unit 100. Subsequently at step S137, thestation control unit 150 change the arrangement of the numerals on thewin line in reference to the win probabilities of the pocket numbers andthe difference between the payout rate POst and the target payout ratePOsttgt. For example, the case shown in FIG. 15 will be explained. Inthe case, the center line of the bingo card is a win line, the numeralson the win line are 7, 6, and 4, and the win probabilities P7, P6 and P4of the winning-prize pocket numbers corresponding to the above thesenumerals have a relationship such as P7>P6>P4. In the processing forchanging arrangement at step S137, the order of the three numeralsarranged on this win line is reset. The center box of the bingo card isa box included in all of the directions which are longitudinal, lateraland diagonal. In a case that high value of the win probability is set tothe center box, the probability of establishing the bingo is heightenedcomparatively compared with the case that low value of the winprobability is set there. Then, in the change of arrangement at stepS137, in a case that the target payout rate POsstgt is enough higherthan the actual payout rate POst, the highest value 7 in the winprobabilities is set to the center box, and the other values areassigned to the right box and the left box respectively. Thereby, theprobability of establishing the bingo gets higher. On the other hand, inthe case that the target payout rate POsttgt is enough lower than theactual payout rate POst, the lowest value 4 in the win probabilities isset to the center box, and the other values are assigned to the rightbox and the left box respectively. Thereby, the probability ofestablishing the bingo gets lower. As mentioned above, by changing thearrangement of numerals depending on the win probabilities to change theprobability of establishing the bingo, it is possible to change thepayout POst toward the target payout rate POsttgt more quickly.

Returning to FIG. 14, the explanation is continued. After changing thearrangement of numerals on the win line, the station control unit 150terminates this routine. After the change of arrangement, each of thenumerals on the win line becomes inactivated to be in an initial state.On the other hand, at step S132 in a case that the bingo is notestablished, the station control unit 150 goes to step S140 to determinewhether the winning-prize pocket number is a repeat or not. In a casethat the numeral of which has been notified in the satellite lottery isalready activated on the bingo card 211, the pocket number is determinedas a repeat. In a case of determining the pocket number as a repeat, thestation control unit 150 goes to step S141 to add one step to a repeatstep. Namely, the repeat WIN medals displayed in the repeat medalsdisplay portion 215 shown in FIG. 10 are changed to a one-step biggervalue. In the example shown in FIG. 10, the repeat WIN medals increasesgradually, such that 10 repeat medals to 1 of repeat count, 20 repeatmedals to 2 of repeat count, and 40 repeat medals to 3 Of repeat count.At the moment of establishing the bingo, the medals the number of whichis the same as the repeat WIN medals depending on the repeat count areprovided to the play field portion 12 (refer to step S133).

Subsequently at step S142, the station control unit 150 delivers thenormal ball B1 to the play field portion 12. This processing may be thesame as the processing of step S106 in FIG. 8. After delivering thenormal ball B1, the station control unit 150 terminates this routine. Ina case that it is determined that the winning-prize pocket number is nota repeat at step S140, the station control unit 150 goes to step S143 toprovide a predetermined medals M and terminate this routine.

FIG. 16 shows a flow chart of a center lottery routine which the centercontrol unit 130 executes in response to the requirement of the centerlottery. The center lottery is required in a case that the bingo featuregiven at step S133 in FIG. 14 is “JP chance”, besides at step S117 inFIG. 8 and at step S206 in FIG. 11. In the center control routine, thecenter control unit 130 firstly at step S401, executes the centerlottery. Namely, while rotating the big roulette 71, the center controlunit 130 makes the big ball drop system 72 drop the big ball 73.Subsequently at step S402, the center control unit 130 determineswhether the big ball 73 has entered the winning prize pocket 71 adefined as JP donation pocket. In a case that it takes rather long timefor the big ball 73 to enter after the drop of the big ball 73, theprocessing may be stopped when the big ball 73 is dropped, and theprocessing in FIG. 16 may be restarted by a detection as a trigger thatthe big ball 73 enters any one of the winning prize pockets 71 a in thebig roulette 71.

In a case that it is determined that the big ball 73 has entered the JPdonation pocket at step S402, the center control unit 130 goes to stepS403 to instruct the station control unit 150, which has required thecenter lottery, to provide to the play filed portion 12, the medals thenumber of which corresponds to the JP win. After instructing theprovision of medals, the center control unit 130 terminates thisroutine. Additionally, in a case that the center lottery is requiredfrom the satellite control unit 140, the station control unit 150 whichhas required the satellite lottery to the satellite control unit 140 isa notified destination of the instruction to provide medals. On theother hand, in a case that the big ball 73 does not enter the JPdonation pocket at step S402, the center control unit 130 goes to stepS404 to determine whether or not the big ball 73 has entered the winningprize pocket 71 a defined as a grand slot pocket. In a case that the bigball 73 has entered the ground slot pocket, the center control unit 130goes to step S405 to require the host control unit 100 to execute thegrand slot lottery, and after that terminates this routine.

In a case that the big ball 73 does not enter the ground slot pocket atstep S404, the center control unit 130 goes to step S406 to instruct thestation control unit 150 to provide medals M the number of whichcorresponds to the center lottery to the play field portion 12. Thenumber of medals in this case is enough smaller than the number ofmedals instructed at step S403. Different number can be instructeddepending on the kind of the winning prize pocket 71 a which the bigball 73 has been taken in. The notified destination of the instructionto provide medals is the same as the one in the case of step S403. Afterinstructing the provision of medals, the center control unit 130terminates this routine.

FIG. 17 shows a flow chart of a ground slot lottery routine which thehost control unit 100 executes in response to the requirement of theground slot lottery (step S405 in FIG. 16) from the center control unit130. In the ground slot lottery routine, the host control unit 100firstly at step S501, executes the ground slot lottery. The ground slotlottery is a slot lottery to compete for establishing the win hand basedon the combination of three patterns, similar to the digital lotterygame performed on the station monitor 16 of the station unit ST.However, the game picture of the ground slot lottery is displayed on thecenter monitor 70 via the center PC 120. At the moment of determinationof the combination of patterns in the ground slot lottery, in otherwords, determination of the win probability in the ground slot lottery,the entire payout rate POall calculated in the processing in FIG. 7 maybe referred.

After executing the ground slot lottery, the host control unit 100 goesto step S502 to determine whether or not a win hand of “premier mode”has been established in the ground slot lottery. In a case that the winhand of “premier mode” has been established, the host control unit 100goes to step S503 to require the station control unit 150 to shift tothe premier mode. The required destination in this case is the stationcontrol unit 150 which has required the center control unit 130 toexecute the center lottery caused the requirement of the ground slotlottery at step S405 in FIG. 16. After requiring the shift to thepremier mode, the host control unit 100 terminates this routine.

In a case that the win hand of “premier mode” is not established at stepS502, the host control unit 100 goes to step S504 to determine whetheror not a win hand of “satellite game” has been established. In a casethat the win hand of “satellite game” has been established, the hostcontrol goes to step S505 to require the satellite control unit 140which has required the center lottery to execute a predetermined centergame. After requiring that, the host control unit 100 terminates thisroutine. the satellite control unit 140 required to execute thesatellite game, executes the satellite game in accordance with apredetermined process, and instructs the station control unit 150 (sameas the required destination at step S503) to provide medals M dependingon the game result.

In a case that the win hand of “satellite game” is not established atstep S504, the host control unit 100 goes to step S506 to determinewhether or not a win hand of “medal WIN” has been established. In a casethat the win hand of “medal WIN” has been established, the host controlunit 100 goes to step S507 to instruct the station control unit 150 toprovide medals the number of which is obtained by adding the medalscorresponding to the win hand of “medal WIN” to the JP medals (theprovision medals instructed at step S403 in FIG. 16). The instructeddestination is the same as the one at step S503. After requiring theprovision of medals, the host control unit 100 terminates this routine.

In a case that the win hand of “medal WIN” is not established at stepS506, the host control computer 100 goes to step S508 to require thecenter control unit 130 to re-execute the center lottery. In response tothis, the center control unit 130 re-executes the center lottery in FIG.16. After requiring to re-execute the center lottery, the host controlunit 100 terminates this routine.

FIG. 18 shows a flow chart of a premier mode routine which the stationcontrol unit 150 executes in a case that the shift to the premier modeis required from the host control unit 100 (step S503 in FIG. 17). Thisroutine is executed instead of the game basic control routine in FIG. 8when the drop of medals to the play field portion 12 is detected.Namely, at the moment of executing the premier mode, the game controlbased on the game basic control routine is not executed. Moreover, in acase that the premier mode is executed, the game picture 220 shown inFIG. 19 instead of the game picture 200 shown in FIG. 9 is displayed onthe station monitor 16. The game picture 220 resembles the game picture200 in FIG. 9 in that three changeable display portions 201 a, 201 b,201 c are provided in a lateral direction, but different form the gamepicture 200 in that a continuation condition display portion 221 insteadof the bingo game portion 210 is provided on the upper side of screen.In the continuation condition display portion 221, the numerals 1 to 9are arranged on a line, and each of the numerals are represented in adifferent state depending on whether the numeral is active or inactiveas a value to continue the premier mode. In FIG. 19, a circle is put toeach of the active numerals and a cross is put to each of the inactivenumerals.

In the premier mode routine, the station control unit 150 firstly stepS151, executes a medal drop processing, and subsequently at step S151determines whether or not the medals M has entered the checker. In acase that the medals M have entered the checker, the station controlunit 150 goes to step S153 to execute the slot lottery as the digitallottery game performed on the station monitor 16. The win hand at thismoment is limited to the case that three same numerals has appeared.Additionally, the win probability is set to be higher than the one atstep S103 in FIG. 8. Subsequently at step S154, the station control unit150 determines whether or not the combination of patterns obtained inthe slot lottery is a losing hand, and in a case of the losing hand,terminates this routine.

On the other hand, in a case of not the losing hand at step S154, thestation control unit 150 goes to step S155 to provide to the play filedportion 12, the medals M the number of which is dependent on the winhand in the slot lottery. Subsequently at step S156, the station controlunit 150 switches between an active state and an inactive state withrespect to the win number, that is, the numeral, three of which haveappeared. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, in a case that the winhandmade up of three of numerals 3 has been established, the state ofnumeral 3 is switched between the active state and the inactive state.For example, in FIG. 19, the circle is put to numeral 3 in thecontinuation condition display portion 221, which means that the numeral3 is active. However, when three of numerals 3 have appeared, the stateof numeral 3 is switched from the active state to the inactive state,and in accordance with this, the state of numeral 3 displayed in thecontinuation condition display portion 221 is switched from the statethat the circle is put to the state that the cross is put. Afterswitching between the state of active and the state of inactive, thestation control unit 150 terminates this routine.

On the other hand, in a case that the medals M do not enter the checkerat step S152, the station control unit 150 goes to step S160 todetermine whether or not the ball B has fallen from the main table 20.In a case that the ball B hasn't fallen, this routine is terminated. Onthe other hand, in a case that the ball B has fallen, the stationcontrol unit 150 goes to step S161 to determine whether or not the ballB which has fallen is the special ball B2. The discrimination of thekind of ball B is above mentioned with respect to the sensor group 151in FIG. 6. In a case that the ball which has fallen is the special ballB2, the station control unit 150 goes to step S162 to determine that thesatellite lottery should be performed at the inner circumference portion33 of the bingo stage 30. On the other hand, in a case that the ball Bwhich has fallen is not the special ball B2, the station control unit150 goes to step S163 to determine that the satellite lottery should beperformed at the outer circumference portion 32 of the bingo stage 30.After determining the area where the satellite game should be performed,the station control unit 150 goes to step S164 to require the satellitelottery to the satellite control unit 140. In this case, the stationcontrol unit 150 also provides to the satellite control unit 140, theinformation of specifying whether the satellite lottery should beperformed at the outer circumference portion 32 or the innercircumference portion 33. After requiring the satellite lottery, thestation control unit 150 terminates this routine. Additionally, inaddition to the require of the satellite lottery, the station controlunit 150 controls the operations of the ball transfer portion 150 sothat the ball B which has fallen is transferred to the end of the slope28.

The satellite control unit 140 to which the satellite lottery isrequired in the processing at step S164 in FIG. 18 executes thesatellite lottery in accordance with the process in FIG. 11. In responseto the result of the satellite lottery, the station control unit 150executes a premier mode termination control routine shown in FIG. 20.This routine is a routine for controlling to continue or terminate thepremier mode. At the first step S171, the station control unit 150obtains the number of winning prize pocket of which has been notified bythe satellite control unit 140. At the next step S172, the stationcontrol unit 150 determines whether or not the winning-prize pocketnumber obtained at step S171 is “JP” or not, that is the ball B hasentered the JP chance pocket. In a case that the winning-prize pocketnumber is “JP”, the station control unit 150 goes to step S173 toterminate the premier mode and get back the processing to the game basiccontrol shown in FIG. 8. After that, the station control unit 150terminates this routine. In FIG. 20, the premier mode is onlyterminated, and in a case that “JP chance” appears in the satellitelottery, the process advances to the processing of and after the centerlottery in FIG. 16.

In a case that the winning-prize pocket number is not “JP” at step S172in FIG. 20, the station control unit 150 goes to step S174 to determinewhether or not the winning-prize pocket number is the inactive numeral.This inactive numeral is a numeral to which the cross is put in thecontinuation condition display portion 221 of the game picture 220 inFIG. 19. In a case that the winning-prize pocket number is equal to oneof the inactive numerals, the station control unit 150 goes to stepS173. In a case that the winning-prize pocket number is not any of theinactive numerals, the station control unit 150 skips step S173 andterminates this routine. According to the above mentioned routine, in acase that the ball B has fallen into the winning prize pocket the numberof which is equal to one of the inactive numerals, and in a case that JPchance has appeared in the satellite lottery and the process advances tothe center lottery, the premier mode is terminated. Accordingly, in acase that the number of the winning prize pocket which the ball B hasfallen into in the satellite lottery is equal to one of the activenumerals, the premier mode is continued.

In the above embodiment, the satellite unit SA and the ball B correspondto the physical lottery system and the medium for lottery respectively.The station control unit 150 corresponds to the game execution deviceand the payout rate control device. The host control unit 100corresponds to the probability calculation device.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment but alsocan be realized by various embodiments. For example, in the aboveembodiment, the ball as the medium for lottery is dropped via the playfield portion 12, but the satellite lottery may be executed not via theplay field portion 12. The physical lottery system is not limited to theconfiguration such as satellite SA, but also can be appropriatelychanged to something able to select randomly at least one option byimparting a physical motion to a medium for lottery. For example, aphysical lottery system where at least one option is selected byutilizing spots of a dice, two sides of coins and the like can beemployed. Alternatively, a physical lottery system can be employed,where a physical motion is imparted to a medium for lottery on a lotteryboard having plural medium take portions each of which corresponds toeach at least one option, and selected option is determined depending onwhich medium take portion the medium for lottery has been taken into.The game execution device is not limited to a device for executing thebingo game, but also can be appropriately changed to a device as long asthe device executes a game in association with the lottery result in thephysical lottery system. For example, in the case that a patternarrangement area where patterns are aligned in a matrix shape isgenerated, it can be determined that a win arrangement is establishedwhen patterns corresponding to selected options are arranged at the fourcorners of the pattern arrangement area.

The payout rate control device is not limited to the above example thatthe arrangement of patterns on the bingo card is changed, but can changevarious elements giving an affection on the payout rate. For example, inthe above embodiment, if the slot lottery executed in the premier modeis operated so that the numeral which is the same number of the winningprize pocket having a high win probability of the ball B becomesinactivate (the symbol “X”), and the numeral which is the same number ofthe winning prize pocket hiving a low win probability becomes activate(the symbol “X”), the probability to terminate the premier mode isheightened, and thereby, the effect that the rising of payout rate isreduced can be performed. Depending on the arrangement of numerals onthe bingo card 211, each line might have a different probability toestablish the bingo from each others. Therefore, the effect that therising of payout rate is reduced can be performed, if the privilegehaving a bigger affection on a direction of heightening the payout rateis disposed on a line having a low probability to establish the bingo,and the privilege having a smaller affection on a direction ofheightening the payout rate is disposed on a line having a lowprobability to establish the bingo.

The present invention is not limited to a configuration of the abovegame machine where the station units ST, the satellite units SA, and thecenter unit CN are combined. For example, a game machine can be employedto the present invention, where a single physical lottery system and asingle station unit ST are combined, or where a physical lottery systemis installed into a single station unit ST. The game machine is notlimited to the one where a delivery of amusement value to a player isrealized by delivering actually amusement media, but also a game machinecan be employed where a delivery of amusement value is realized byutilizing virtual amusement media.

1. A game machine comprising: a physical lottery system for selecting atleast one option from a plurality of options by utilizing physicalmotions of a medium for lottery; and a game execution device forexecuting a predetermined game in association with a lottery result ofthe physical lottery system, and delivering to a player, amusementvalue, the amount of which depends on a result of the game, wherein thegame machine further comprising: a probability calculation device forcalculating a probability to select each option based on a lotteryresult within a predetermine sampling period; and a payout rate controldevice for controlling a payout rate of the amusement value in the gamein reference to the probability calculated by the probabilitycalculation device.
 2. The game machine according to claim 1, whereinThe game execution device is configured so that a pattern arrangementarea is generated virtually, where a plurality of patterns are arrangedin a predetermined alignment, each of the plurality of patternscorresponding to each of the plurality of options in the physicallottery system, and in a case that a predetermined win arrangement isformed by the plurality of patterns in the pattern arrangement area,each of the plurality of patterns corresponds to each of the pluralityof options selected through plural lotteries in the lottery system, theamusement value is delivered to the player.
 3. The game machineaccording to claim 2, wherein the payout rate control device controlsthe payout rate by changing the alignment of patterns in the patternarrangement area based on the calculated probability.
 4. The gamemachine according to claim 3, wherein the payout rate control devicechanges the alignment of the patterns so that a difference between anactual value of the payout rate and a target value of the payout rate isreduced.
 5. The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the gameexecution device virtually generates as the pattern arrangement area, abingo card where the patterns are aligned in a matrix shape, in whichthe number of patterns in a longitudinal direction is the same number ofpatterns in a lateral direction, and in a case that all patterns on anyone of lines in the longitudinal direction, the lateral direction, or adiagonal direction correspond to the options selected by the physicallottery system, it is recognized that the win arrangement has beenformed and the delivery of the amusement value is executed.
 6. The gamemachine according to claim 5, wherein the payout rate control devicecontrols the payout rate, in a case that the win arrangement has beenformed, by changing the arrangement of patterns included in the winarrangement based on the probability calculated by the probabilitycalculation device as to each of the options corresponding to thepatterns included in the win arrangement.
 7. The game machine accordingto claim 6, wherein the payout rate control device, in a case that theactual value of the payout rate is lower than the target value of thepayout rate, changes the arrangement of patterns so that the patterncorresponding to the option the win probability of which is relativelyhigher is arranged at a center of the win arrangement, and in a casethat the actual value of the payout rate is higher than the target valueof the payout rate, changes the arrangement of patterns so that thepattern corresponding to the option the win probability of which isrelatively lower is arranged at a center of the win arrangement.